


Hey Jude

by librarian_of_velaris



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Cardan being adorable, Cardan learns about the mortal world, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Jurdan in the mortal world, Walkmans, inspired by a song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 05:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17975399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librarian_of_velaris/pseuds/librarian_of_velaris
Summary: Jude brings Cardan to her home in the mortal world, where she finds her mom's old Walkman, piquing Cardan's curiosity.





	Hey Jude

“The mortal world is  _fascinating,”_ Cardan said, beaming up at Jude. 

She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been here for an hour, Cardan. What could you possibly have found that would be so  _fascinating_?” 

Cardan shook his head at her, not understanding. This world…he hadn’t expected mortals to be so…savvy. It’s not as though a world without magic couldn’t be impressive, but, well, Cardan certainly hadn’t expected it. And it even seemed like–like they were  _more_ advanced, what with their giant metal boxes that moved (Jude told him they were cars, but that word meant nothing to him, and she refused to explain, anyway), their methods of playing music–how could they store so much music in a little tiny device!–and even the way pictures formed on what Jude told him were televisions. He’d never seen anything like it, and for Jude to tell him it  _wasn’t_ surprising?! 

Oh, Jude. 

Sure, she’d been born to this world–and had visited with her sister plenty of times–but how could this all seem  _normal_? Cardan figured she’d be so used to Faerie that this was as foreign to her as to him, but instead, she seemed to be the expert. She navigated the world with ease, unafraid. And sure, she lived in Faerie with a similar bravery, but even he knew that she still felt a level of fear there. She wasn’t as relaxed, as comfortable, there. Here, though, her shoulders relaxed, she lounged on the couch with no fear of her things being stolen or her hair being knotted by a stray faerie looking for some trouble. She didn’t even have her sword with her! Normally, Jude kept it strapped to her side at all times. 

But here…she didn’t seem to need that. There was an ease to living here. At least, for mortals. 

For Faeries it was harder, as though the mortals knew how to protect themselves against the despite not knowing of their existence. 

Iron was everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. In the buildings, in the so-called cars, their jewelry, hell, it was even in some of the water! It left Cardan feeling eternally uncomfortable. And grateful that the house they were staying in was some sort of log cabin from when Jude was young. 

It wasn’t just the iron, though. There was salt, too. In everything. Their meat was seasoned with salt almost always, according to Jude. So were the vegetables. Even the desserts! As soon as they got to the cabin, Jude opened the cabinet and plopped a salted caramel candy into her mouth–without offering him one, of course. Instead of sweets, Cardan had a nice snack of bread and butter. 

And promptly spit it out, realizing there was salt in the bread, too. 

_Sorry,_ Jude had said sheepishly. As though she didn’t know there was salt in it. But Cardan knew better. They might be on better terms as of late, but she still loved to trick him. To mess with him. To  _lie_ to him. If she got a good laugh out of it, too, that was another plus. 

She hadn’t laughed this time, but he saw a smile creep up on her lips, as though she’d had a feeling there was salt and fed it to him anyway. 

This world was not meant for him. Or any Faerie. However Vivi lived here, he had no idea. There was nothing to eat, to drink, to  _enjoy._ At least, not for him. 

Regardless, there was something fascinating about the endurance of the mortal world and their technologies. Sure, he wouldn’t vacation here by any means, but staying here for a day or two…could be fun. There was so much to see, after all. 

“Cardan?”

“Hmm?” 

“You’re staring.” 

“Am I not allowed to stare at your beautiful face?” he purred, moving closer to Jude. 

“You’re staring at the television,” she replied blandly. 

“…oh.” Cardan shifted, taking his eyes off of the pictures moving across the screen. It was harder than he wanted to admit, though. The story, the pictures telling the story…it was all so  _fascinating._ He knew if Jude hadn’t awoken him from his trance, he likely would’ve stared at that television, thinking about it–and the mortal world’s ways–all day. 

“How is it that despite not having magic, mortals produce things like this–” he pointed to the tv “and those–” he pointed outside, to the cars lining the street. 

“They had to adapt,” Jude said, taking a box out from under her bed, “mortals didn’t have magic to rely on–to help them. So instead, they had to help themselves. Machines, technology, art…all of it developed  _because_ there was no magic.” 

“But  _how,”_ Cardan wondered. 

“Brain power. How about an example. Once upon a time, we had to play instruments to hear music. We couldn’t record it, couldn’t store it anywhere. To hear a song again, you had to find a musician. I’m going to fast forward here a bit, but after that, you had record players, and then tape recorders, like this one.” She held out her hand, showing him the device. It was fairly bulky, with a few buttons and a space to put something inside, with a pair of headphones attached at the top. 

“Tape recorder?” 

“Well they were actually called Walkmans, back in the day. This one–this one was my mom’s. Before she was killed.” 

“May I…”

Jude smiled. “You can see it. If you want. I’ll even put a tape in for you.” 

Cardan held his hands out, waiting, while Jude placed a rectangular object inside of the device. He took it from her gingerly, being sure not to crush it between his hands. He wasn’t about to ruin something of her mother’s. He knew how much it meant to her that she still had this–a memory of her and her past. And of Madoc’s cruelty. 

But he had no idea what to do with it. So he turned it over in his hand, inspecting the device. The buttons had odd symbols that he couldn’t figure out. Two lines. A sideways triangle.  _Two_ sideways triangles facing one way, and another two facing another. A square. What was it all for?

“Jude, how do I use this device?” 

She laughed. “Put on the headphones and press the single triangle.” 

He did as she said, and music came flowing from the Walkman into his ears. Cardan’s eyes went wide.  _How did this work?_ He decided instantly that he needed one of his own. 

The music was unlike anything he’d ever heard. No lute he’d ever heard sounded like that! As though…as though it were releasing lightning with every note. And the drums were so complete. Was one person doing all of this? Jude once told him that drummers in the mortal world had drum sets. Was this what drum sets sounded like? 

And then there was the voice. All gravelly and like nothing he’d ever heard in Faerie. There, one needed skill to sing for the folk–they needed to hit every note, let their vocals cascade over the audience. This was…not so beautiful. But Cardan found that he enjoyed it–he needed something different nowadays. 

“This is like nothing I’ve ever heard before,” Cardan said, amazement in his voice. 

“I guessed as much,” she said, chuckling. “The next song’s my favorite. My mom used to sing it to me every night.” 

At that, Cardan stood and held out his hand, putting the walkman in his pocket. “Then shall we?” 

Jude furrowed her brows. “Shall we what?” 

“Dance, of course. If you will do me the honor?” 

“I can’t exactly hear the music, Cardan. How am I going to dance?” 

“Like this.” He waved his hand, and the music began to fill the room. “Better?” 

“Fine,” she huffed, and took his hand. 

_Hey Jude, don’t make it bad_

_Take a sad song, and make it better_

_Remember to let her in your heart_

_Then you can start to make it better_

The song filled the air, surprising Cardan with every word. 

“Hey Jude?” Cardan said, eyes wide.

“Yeah?” 

“Is this song about you?” 

She laughed. “No, no. It’s by the Beatles. My mom used to tell me it was, though.” 

“She was lying?” 

“Of course. I wasn’t even born when the Beatles wrote this song.” 

“Oh. This is a beautiful song.” 

Cardan wasn’t lying. He loved it. He wanted every bard in Faerie to learn this song, to play it when he asked. He wanted to listen to  _Hey Jude_ over and over again, until the court demanded he stop. And then he wanted to hear it some more. 

“I think it is, too,” Jude said, and rested her head on Cardan’s. He placed a kiss on her forehead. 

They remained like that, her head on his, his arms around her, dancing until the song was over. Eventually, Jude pulled back and looked at Cardan, who was grinning. “What?” she asked. 

“This is your song, Jude.” 

“I didn’t write it.” 

“It’s still  _yours._ Your mom gave it to you, and now you’ve given it to me. And I will bring it back to Faerie, for all to hear. To enjoy.” 

“Cardan, I don’t think–” 

“It’s a beautiful song. As beautiful as you are. And our world–our home–should learn of its beauty. Of your beauty.” He moved closer, taking her hand in his. 

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, given that I’m–” she pointed to her ears, to the rounded tops. 

“They must know. I am done letting them walk all over you. Treating you like you are nothing. You are their  _Queen._ They should be honoring you.” 

“Cardan, they won’t, though. I’m mortal.” 

“We can try, Jude. Try to make them see you as I see you.” 

“You didn’t see me like this before,” Jude grumbled.

“That was  _years_ ago, Jude. It is ancient history. If not for them, would you allow me to bring the song home for you? For me? I would certainly love to hear it again.” 

Jude thought for a moment. “Fine. But you’ll teach it only to bards within our court. And you won’t tell them why you want them to learn it.” 

“Deal,” he said, sealing their agreement with a kiss.

***

Cardan did as he was told. He taught only the bards within their court  _Hey Jude,_ not explaining why, and telling them to keep it a secret. But you know what happens when bards love a song are told to keep it a secret. Word spreads,  _songs_ spread, and soon, every bard in Faerie knew the words to  _Hey Jude_. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed <3 Cardan in the mortal world is endlessly entertaining for me lmao


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